Hair strands effects, such as highlighting, allow a user to achieve a different look than a full head application.
One known method for providing highlighting is the cap and hook system, whereby a cap with holes is positioned over the head and bundles of hair strands are pulled out from the holes with a hook. The highlighting composition is then applied in an excessive amount over the bundles of hair strands to saturate the hair. At professional salons, experienced stylists prefer foils to the cap and hook system. Once a bundle of hair strands has been selected, it is laid upon a foil and covered with a generous amount of highlighting composition to saturate the hair. The process is completed by wrapping the bundle of hair strands within the foil.
Both processes described above are difficult if self-performed and many users still prefer to visit professional salons to achieve a satisfactory result. To facilitate the application of a composition to highlight the hair at home, different devices have been developed. These devices belong within two general fields. One field comprises devices based on combs and/or brushes; the other field encompasses devices comprising two movably joined portions, such as two plates, a plate and a well or two wells. Such devices are characterized by having a first portion, which is for receiving a composition to highlight the hair, and a second portion which is movably joined to the first portion and may be brought into a juxtaposed relationship to the first portion. Non-woven, sponges, foams and other fibrous material may be attached to any of those portions in order to partially absorb the composition to highlight the hair and/or to avoid leakage of the composition outside the device. Usually the application of the composition to highlight the hair is performed by positioning a bundle of hair strands between the movably joined portions and clamping the bundle of hair strands within the devices by bringing the two portions into a juxtaposed relationship. The application is then completed by swiping the devices once or twice along the entire length of the bundle of hair strands.
Some examples of these devices are disclosed in the art such as in: U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,030,968; 6,062,23; 7,025,069; GB 2242357; JP 1999178630; JP 2001211925 and EP 1433399.
Although potentially precise, cheap and user-friendly, these devices apply an amount of composition to highlight the hair which is at least three times less than the amount applied with the cap and hook or the foil system. Consequently, commercially available compositions to highlight the hair used in combination with these devices may not provide the results that a user would reasonably expect.
Thus, what still remains to be solved in the art is to provide a composition to highlight the hair with a device comprising two movably joined portions.
It has now been found that a system (as defined hereafter) is capable of overcoming the technical problem defined above.